Category: social-emotional

culture, family, lgbtq+, social-emotional

Spotlight: Vlad the Fabulous Vampire/Alma and How She Got Her Name

Seth Harris

Vlad the Fabulous Vampire (Candlewick Press)
Written & Illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago

For ages: 4-8
Vlad isn’t like the other vampires. He loves bold fashion and uses his meticulously planned everyday wear to hide something he’s ashamed of. Vlad has bright rosy pink cheeks. These marks on his face make him stand out from the other vampires, so Vlad develops an insecurity about them. He doesn’t realize until the end of the story that every vampire has something they think will make them ostracized from the group. But when everyone acknowledges their differences, they realize they are all the same in unique ways.

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asian-american, social-emotional

Spotlight: My Friend, Loonie/Sari Sari Summer

Seth Harris

My Friend, Loonie (Candlewick)
Written by Nina LaCour
Illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

For ages: 4-8
The narrator, a little girl, finds a great friend in a big yellow balloon. Loonie, as she names it, becomes an integral part of her life. They walk around the neighborhood together; she reads aloud to Loonie, and has dance parties together. Then one day, something terrible happens. The girl loses her hold, and Loonie floats away into the sky. That loss weighs heavily on the little girl. Yet, there comes a day when the same yellow that made her balloon so special starts to show up in other places. A beautiful yellow flower emerges from the family garden and reminds her precisely of her old friend.

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book list, social-emotional, summer

List: Summer Vacation

Seth Harris

And Then Comes Summer (Candlewick)
Written by Tom Brenner
Illustrated by Jaime Kim

For ages: 4-8
Few days are as bubbling over with the potential for fun & adventure as the first day of summer break. This book, part of the “And Then Comes…” series, starts with a little boy’s final day of class. That’s followed by games of hide-and-seek, fireworks, parades, camping, and swimming in the lake. The boy and his friends leap from one activity to the next, allowing that free-wheeling summer feeling to exude from these pages. Jaime Kim does an excellent job of making those joyful emotions contagious through her beautiful illustrations.

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autism, nonfiction corner, social-emotional

Nonfiction Corner – Everybody Feels Fear/How to Build a Hug

Seth Harris

Everybody Feels Fear (DK Children)
Written & Illustrated by Ashwin Chacko

For ages: 4-8
For a very long time, parents in America were taught to push their children despite signs that the child might have anxiety. The result was a society full of anxious people who were terrible at communicating their feelings. The solution to handling fear is different for every person. This book does an excellent job of talking to young children about how it is normal to feel fear and provides some strategies on what to do when you feel it. One of my favorite things about this text is that it emphasizes nothing wrong with feeling scared & that bravery has nothing to do with making fear disappear. Courage happens in spite of fear, and it can take time to build up enough of it.

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book list, social-emotional

List – Humanity & Homelessness

Seth Harris

Turn on the news these days, and you’re likely to see a news report about the increase in homelessness. Unfortunately, the language used in this reporting is often cruel and dehumanizing towards the people who don’t have shelter. I find the way they are spoken about almost places them in a category separate from humans. It’s a troubling, fascistic way of talking about the poor. Empathy is needed, as well as material help in the form of housing, food, education, health care, and so on. We must teach our children that homeless people are people first. Their living conditions result from broken systems that harm us all to varying degrees. We’re also all one bad day away from ending up in that same position; creating a world where no one has to go homeless benefits us all. These books can help begin conversations with your children about the plight of people who have been forced to live on the streets or perpetually live on the edge of losing everything.

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science, social-emotional

Spotlight – Jabari Jumps/Salamander Sky

Seth Harris

Jabari Jumps (Candlewick)
Written & Illustrated by Gaia Cornwall

For ages: 3-6
Jabari has decided this is the day he will jump from the diving board into the city swimming pool. His father and baby sister accompany him on this day out, with the little boy constantly stating aloud that he’s a good jumper & he’s not scared. Jabari is psyching himself up to do something he is somewhat frightened of. But he’s determined, though. As Jabari gets in line and moves closer to the ladder that will take him to the board he feels the butterflies set in. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all? He keeps finding ways to stall, like needing to stretch first. Dad never pressures him but reminds his son that being scared is okay. Of course, Jabari conquers his fear and learns a lesson. So do we.

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food, humor, social-emotional, spotlight

Spotlight: The Sour Grape/Donuts: The Hole Story

Seth Harris

The Sour Grape (HarperCollins)
Written by Jory John
Illustrated by Pete Oswald

For ages: 4-8
You are likely already familiar with the Food Group series of picture books, and this is the latest (as of this writing) addition to the collection. The Sour Grape is a grumpy person who spends time explaining how they ended up this way. It started when the Grape planned an elaborate birthday party, but no one showed up. The Grape went from being sweet to bitter and then sour, lashing out at anyone who crossed their path. A relatable situation.

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author spotlight, black history, black lives, social-emotional

Author Spotlight: Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Seth Harris

Vanessa Brantley-Newton was born in Newark, New Jersey. She learned early on to celebrate being Black and living in a diverse community. One of her earliest reading memories is picking up Ezra Jack Keats’s Snowy Day. Brantley-Newton has said that it was the first time she saw herself in a children’s book, which had been Keats’s goal in making his protagonist Black. That began a life-long love of art, particularly picture book illustration. Although, like many artists before her, Brantley-Newton didn’t go straight to kids’ books and studied fashion at The Fashion Institute of Technology. Later, at the School of the Visual Arts, she took up children’s book illustration, which is now her job. Now she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband & daughter, regularly collaborating with writers on books that continue what the Snowy Day once did for her.

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african, social studies, social-emotional

Book List: Africa

Seth Harris

Anansi and the Golden Pot (DK Children)
Written by Taiye Selasi
Illustrated by Tinuke Fagborun

For ages: 3-5
This remarkable retelling of an Anansi story centers on a little boy named after the fabled spider trickster. Anansi, the boy, travels with his family on a plane to Ghana, where the family’s relatives live. While staying at his nana’s seaside home, Anansi meets the actual spider, who gives him a golden pot. This magical pot will fill itself with whatever the boy desires most. However, there’s a catch; he must share the pot with the people he loves the most. This is a fantastic introduction to the stories of Anansi, one of the most well-known African folklore characters. I went in expecting just another simple retelling but placing this in the present day does a lot to freshen up some retold tales.

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animals, illustration, social-emotional, spotlight

Spotlight: The Littlest Yak/Carnivores

Seth Harris

The Littlest Yak (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
Written by Lu Fraser
Illustrated by Kate Hindley

For ages: 4-8
No matter the period, it seems like children always feel a sense of inadequacy from being so much smaller than the world they are born into. Some kids are just itching to grow up because they feel left behind, unable to do all the things the big kids do. Gertie feels just the same, the smallest yak among a herd of very big ones. She sees the other yaks with their “hugest of hooves and humongous horns” and yearns for the same. Gertie’s mother tries to convince her to cherish these times of being a kid but Gertie just won’t have it. 

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